The Taste of Dreams: An Obsession with Russia and Caviar (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Recommended for both public and academic libraries of all sizes.” -- Library Journal

Product Description

The Taste of Dreams is both a quest for the romantic Russia of the author’s dreams, and a tale of amazement as she discovers and gets caught up in the new, anarchic Russia emerging from its Soviet constraints. At its heart is the story of caviar—beluga, the rarest type of sturgeon, harvested from the Caspian Sea. It is now an endangered species, and no one knows how to—or wants to—stop the plunder. Intelligent, funny, and enormously engaging, this is a modern tour through the intricacies of the new Russia. Vanora Bennett writes for The Times of London and is a former Moscow correspondent for Reuters and the Los Angeles Times. She is the author of Crying Wolf: The Return of War to Chechnya.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755300637
• ISBN-13: 978-0755300631
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,373,982 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Trip Through Post-Soviet Russia, September 21, 2008

By	D. Smith (Chandler, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Based on a 2003 paperback copy.

The Taste of Dreams: An Obsession with Russia and Caviar... The author may be equally obsessed with each, but she spends a lot more words on the "Russia" half of her obsession than with the "Caviar" half. It's an interesting read mostly concerned with the author's experiences in post-Soviet Russia. Caviar makes recurring cameo appearances, but it hardly deserves equal billing with Russia in the book title. I don't regret the $7 I spent on a used copy and the few days it took to work through it, but don't take the plunge here if you are looking for a 275-page treatise on sturgeon roe.

Best line in the book (paraphrasing): If you are asking whether or not caviar tastes good, you are missing the point.